Blood Cell Counts Bouncing Back

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I've been on chemo for about two years and my white blood cell count has always bounced back either to normal or close to normal. Does that indicate something about my overall health?

Answer

James Metz, MD, OncoLink Editor In Chief, responds:

This really depends on many factors. It is great your white blood count has bounced back after chemotherapy. However, this can be related to the type of chemotherapy, number of cycles, interval between cycles, and any other treatments received. There are many other measures of overall health including weight, protein levels, and overall activity that are used to judge health.

Jul 26, 2011 - Azacitidine may be an effective treatment for acute myeloid leukemia in elderly patients, especially those who have not undergone any previous treatments and those with a white blood cell count of <10 × 109/L, according to a study published online July 14 in Cancer.